Training Log Archive: TomN

Drumm loop again. Garmin 410 came up with exactly the same mileage as last time, 3.62. This time, I paid attention to where it thought the mile points were. The same track on gmap-pedometer is 3.77, and the mile points are off from the Garmin's by increasing amounts, so it looks like the difference is a percent of distance traveled.

Sligo loop. I had written the day off, what with all the precipitation in various forms, but in the late afternoon the sun came out and it suddenly looked better. Wore the HRM for the second time. It feels like it's going to slip down off my chest but never seems to. At easy pace I cruise along at a steady 126, but the least incline spikes it up to 146. Always comes right down again. The kids both wanted to try it, but it didn't seem to work on them. More precisely, it held at steady 150 on both of them, which certainly isn't right. Maybe it's double-counting for some reason.

Drumm loop. New Forerunner 410, has the distance a little shorter than I thought, and I haven't figured out how to map the track yet.

C • Mapping the Track 1

Driving back from IAD the speed camera on Conn Ave just south of Howard Ave went off as I passed by. I was doing about the speed limit in pretty solid traffic, and didn't see anyone else driving faster. Conditions were lousy, a mix of snow, rain and sleet falling all day, and it would have been crazy to drive fast. I'm leaving this as a contemporaneous note in case an unpleasant letter arrives in the mail.

Drumm loop.

Drumm loop. Windy day. Phone is out -- maybe it's the wind. Hit 500 miles on the 2nd pair of Brooks Adrenalines!

Drumm loop again. A little cooler today, and cloudy, but no wind. Pretty nice for running, actually. Just have to convince yourself to go out the door.

Drumm loop. 60F and a little wind coming up.

Event: QOC Oregon Ridge
 

I ran my own Red course, which had some long legs I had never done during the course setting. I was interested in testing the theory that a big factor in my orienteering is the inability to visualize the control area, and the resulting time loss due to lack of confidence at the endpoints. The answer was yes, I was more confident entering the control area, and faster entering, punching and moving on. But it wasn't a great test because most of the controls on this course were visible from a long way away. It was hard to hide anything in this forest. It being a club event, the control locations had to do multiple duty, and I couldn't hide them from all approaches.

My only problem was the leg from 2-3, on which I lost track of the distance on the long featureless ridge. Well, that was the trap I intended to set, and I fell into it. Perfect.

Nice to see all the DVOA folks there. Had a good chat with Dan Barker, Dave Urban, and others. Afterwards, took Addie to lunch at Wegmans and discussed her course.

C • Thanks! 2

Red - Splits

I arrived at about 11:30 a.m. and found the NJROTC event in full swing. This was remarkably gratifying. The start and finish were grandlly streamered and running like clockwork. Starting runners were being called up on 2-minute intervals. Finishing runners were entering the arena one by one to great cheers. Basically, it was an A-meet. The parking lot looked oddly empty, but it turned out the buses had all parked in the overflow area in the field left (east) of the parking lot, where several of them immediately proceeded to get stuck in the mud.

I headed over to the Nature Center parking area to see how the controls were working. My big water stop control for Y-O had been moved to the proper location (thanks, Eddie). I should have known something was up the previous afternoon when Valerie couldn't find the streamer for it, but by then it was dark. I went up to the next common Orange control. Everywhere I looked, runners were going in the wrong direction, off on impossible route choices, or standing stock still with the control in plain view. One kid was hollering to see if anyone had seen a rock, because he needed it for Green. (There were no rocks.) It was chaos.

Checked in again with Valerie, and went off to have a lunch at Wegmans (I admit, I was actually looking forward to doing this). When I got back, it was all work. I visited all 4 water stops with a backpack full of water, cleaned up the trash and replenished the water supply for the next day. At dusk I met Valerie and Sandy, who reminded me that there was a White control that needed water too. Unfortunately, it was at the top of the ski slope. We left that one for a volunteer tomorrow.

Putting out controls for Oregon Ridge. This was a combined NJROTC/QOC meet. The Saturday NJROTC event had over 400 runners registered. For the courses, they had asked for 2 Yellows and 2 Oranges, with each pair of courses equal in all respects so they could declare an overall champion. That was interesting. I spent a lot of time tweaking the courses to make the twin pairs. Then at the very last minute, it turned out they had too many Green runners, so I made another Green course. The first attempt I sketched in it turned out to be exactly the same length and climb as the other Green. No problemo!

It took me a long time to get the controls out. I was walking, not pushing very hard, but still. At the end of the day, there was water that needed to get put out on the courses. Valerie had kindly volunteered to hump 12 gallons up to the top of the hill (how can I ever repay you?) and I backpacked it out to various widely-dispersed locations. Who designed these water stops, anyway? It turns out that 4 gallons of water rides pretty comfortably, but 5 is basically over the limit for me. Shoot, there was a time when I packed 120 lbs up to 11,000 feet in the Wind Rivers and became known as the Beast from the East. Oh well, the ravages of time and all that.

Anyway, it was about dark when everything was set. The drive home was nuts. I got stuck in 3 accidents. It was 2 hours just to get out of Baltimore. Great food back at home but couldn't eat much, too tired.

Drumm loop, with a short detour out to Capitol View on account of total space-out.

Event: QOC Prince William Forest
 

QOC PWNFP Red. Given yesterday's exertions, Red may have been aggressive, but I wanted to get into the terrain across the river rather than repeat yesterday's courses. Immediately upon starting out, the fatigue in my legs was apparent. So, I took things slowly, and big surprise, I navigated pretty well. Good route choices, and good focus in the control area. I couldn't get up any speed at all on the trail runs, and I didn't feel like pushing it through the dense areas. Nevertheless, it was a good result, only a minute and change off the lead. A lesson even for the thick-headed.

Red - Splits

Night-O - Splits

QOC training event, organized by Ted Good. A multimedia classroom-style presentation on route choice, followed by a shadowing exercise. I was paired with Rick Oliver, a former U.S. Team member who has been away from orienteering for some time due to a combination of injuries and the requirements of a real life. Each of us took the lead on 3 controls, and followed 3 controls.

The first issue came in sorting out the direction to the first control. I was in the lead and he insisted I was making a 180-degree error. I can admit to a few of those, so I was willing to listen, but I was pretty sure I had it right. Then he showed me the proof, and sure enough, his compass was pointing the other way. Actually, after some experimentation, it appeared that his compass had no magnets whatsoever. It was like Captain Jack Sparrow's compass, pointing whichever way it wanted to. Like I said, out of orienteering for some time.

I navigated unevenly on my 3 controls, and it was good to have Rick along. When it came time to exchange leads, he figured he'd try the first control with no compass, and the results were not pleasant. The terrain was inordinately complex, and even following, I was unsure of where we were. After the first control disaster, I gave him my compass, and interestingly, I was more aware of the terrain when I was following, and was able to provide reasonable suggestions.

After talking with a number of the participants, I got the impression that information mostly flowed in one direction between the paired runners. That's good, but it only met half the goal. I think the benefit would probably have been maximized with a more-experienced orienteer shadowing a less-experienced one, rather than trying to pair us off equally. As a club, we need to do more of these exercises.

Mini-sprint after training exercise. I went all-out on this, and had a good run until the next-to-last control. I couldn't find the control. There was a nearby control, with a different number, and that was to be expected because there were many other controls out for the next day's event. I spent 3-4 minutes searching the area before giving up and going on to the last control. Well, it was obviously in the correct location, and also mis-numbered. The pattern was now clear. But it was an informal event, and I appreciate that Ted went to the trouble to put up the course.

Night-O at Prince William. I am in awe of the people who can complete this course at daytime speed. For me, it was basically a continuous wall of impenetrable vegetation. I got repeated pokes in the eyes and greenbriar necklaces, and one good poke in the knee with a sharp stick. At a couple of points I had no idea how to find the control, but managed to waste enough time that someone else came by to show me the way. I'm not sure I can call this fun. I can call it exhausting, though, as the 3rd event of the day.

QOC Prince William overnight camping weekend. Third year for this event, and it's a great tradition. We arrange ourselves among the dozens of cabins, some heated, some not, and gather in the big lodge for potluck dinner and breakfast. Game night after dinner for those who can stay awake. The next day is the winter meeting and O-event. We had upwards of 40 overnighters this time, but the place can probably hold 1000. Most of us could have had a cabin to ourselves, if we were so inclined.

Dinner and breakfast were superior, but I have to say I was one of the ones who couldn't stay awake for game night. That's o.k., I got a few rounds in with Addie on Blokus. We attracted a couple of other interested kids, but it didn't much matter. The essence of the game is, Addie always wins.

GSFC perimeter road with an extra loop around the pond. Unusually warm day, equipment was shorts and T-shirt. Partial sun, air felt humid and southern. A little bit of South Carolina here in December. Tomorrow, things may be different.

Sligo Creek loop on a sunny day, mid 50s.

Forest Glen-Beach Drive-Old Spring Rd. Nice day -- about 50F, sunny, calm.